The Bottom Line The way I see it, is that one side wants to control the lives of the other side.

I decided to tackle the mother of controversial subjects – Abortion.

Do I have an opinion? Heck yes, I have an opinion, but my opinion isn’t whether abortion constitutes murder or not. I happen to think that a woman should have a right to choose, but it doesn’t matter. Why? Because I’m a man. There is no way a man can interpose themselves into the place of a woman, let alone a pregnant woman, so they (including me) should just butt out.

The abortion rights debate should only be between women. Yet, it seems that a large majority of the Right to Life supporters are men. Deplorably all the violent actions perpetrated by this group against clinics and doctors have been men. Unfortunately, these actions tend to cloud the real issue and the way I see it is both sides have rock-solid issues.

The practice of abortion preempts the birth and therefore the eventual life of the fetus. (I personally believe that life doesn’t begin at conception but I’m a man, so that doesn’t count) In any event, it is a regrettable procedure, which should not be entered into lightly without pre-procedure counseling.

There can be many factors, which enter into a woman’s decision of whether or not to carry a pregnancy to term. Things like abandonment, a woman’s health, her mental suitability, her financial ability, the viability of the fetus, quantity of existing children etc. To the pro life/anti abortion backers, these factors may seem trivial.

Though it seems reasonable that a woman who becomes pregnant as a result of the unconscionable act of incest or rape are entitled to an express pass for an abortion, yet here too, most right to lifer’s line up against this reasonable assumption. Are we to compound the crime that has been inflicted against these women by forcing them to have the child of the perpetrator, thus forcing her to raise and live with a living breathing memory of her attacker for her the remainder of her life? This is the equivalent of a life sentence for the victim.

Some states have passed laws that make all abortions, even the ones protecting the life of the mother, illegal. Since, I know of no state legislatures that contain a majority of women, this is another case where men are involving themselves in a woman’s issue. It is much too easy for men to moralize about this issue, when they are on the outside looking in.

On a related matter, the same faction who vehemently rejects abortion, claiming it’s an extreme form of birth control, tantamount to murder, also reject logical steps to avoid pregnancy such as various forms of the morning after pill. I find their position on this peculiar, since restricting use of these contraceptives would lead to more unwanted pregnancies and by extension, more dreaded abortions.

Even more curious, is the right to life bloc’s position on stem cell research, using extra, unused embryos that are scheduled for destruction. It is widely held within the medical community that such research will pay giant dividends, potentially leading to break through cures for everything from Parkinson’s disease to Spinal Cord rejuvenation. Yet, the sanctimonious right to lifers would rather flush these embryos down the drain than allow them to be put to work for medical research. In this case they seem to be out of touch with an overwhelming majority of Americans and even a few of their own Congressional representatives, as the President had to veto a bill recently, which allowed government funding of such research.

Perhaps the President would feel differently if his mother suddenly developed a case of Alzheimer’s disease or if one of his daughters became pregnant. Personal hardship has a way of moderating one’s views.